Best of FHOTD: Beginner mistakes that can kill your horse…
Nov 05 2009
REPUBLISHING this one from 5/11/09 by request, and because it’s always a good topic!
As I’ve posted before, I didn’t get a horse early into my riding career. I lived in the ‘burbs and my mother steadfastly declared that no way was she going to that smelly barn on a daily basis. So horse ownership had to wait until I had a driver’s license and as a result I was at least a mediocre owner, if not a good one, by the time I had something with four hooves to call my own. In the meantime, I took nine years of riding lessons. While my instructors were far from George Morris, I did acquire the basics and the ability to ride the “advanced” school horses – aka those given to frequent spooking, bolting, bucking and similar behaviors.
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Still, I made a lot of dumb first-time owner mistakes. My horse lived in a tie stall for quite some time, something I feel guilty about to this day. I am lucky that the barn had a good farrier, because I wouldn’t have known good from bad. I’d read every horse book on earth, so that was somewhat helpful. Still, it is probably a very good thing I’d grown up in a barn full of adults all too happy to screech things like “pick up that lead rope, he’s going to step on it!” at me when my teenage brain had wandered.
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Sadly, not all horses are fortunate and every day, horses get sold to rank beginners – people whose knowledge base is limited to having ridden a friend’s horse a few times or gone trail riding on vacation. They have a couple of acres, and their impression of a horse is that it is kind of like a big dog. It will mow the lawn and you can ride it. An amazing number of horses survive this kind of ownership, but the fact is, some do not. Few beginners understand how easy it is to kill a horse. I see these people on message boards daily, asking questions that make me want to march the streets campaigning for ownership licensing and a test. Sometimes it is too late and they are already posting about the loss of their horses. Â
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Since I know that a lot of beginners do read this blog, today we are going to talk about the mistakes that really can kill your horse. Those of you who aren’t beginners, please add to my list!
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1. Turnout in a halter that will not break – i.e. nylon or rope. If any of you have a stack of Western Horseman magazines from the 1970s, I need a favor. Can you scan that ad showing the dead horse hung up on the fence? They don’t use that ad anymore – I’m sure some parent sued for their child’s emotional distress – but it’s a damn shame because it got the message across. I am still, in 2009, reading message board posts from someone who turned out in a nylon or rope halter and came back to find a horse hung up with a broken neck. Even a horse who ties very well may panic when his head gets trapped unexpectedly. This can happen when he’s scratching an itchy spot on a t-post or something like a piece of loose metal on the barn (of course, that shouldn’t be there either). Some horses will even catch a back foot in their halter as they scratch themselves, and you can imagine the injuries that result. The solution is simple – either turn out with no halter (this is always the safest and if you can’t catch your horse, you have something to work on, don’t you?) or turn out with a breakaway halter.
A related problem – tying too long. When your horse is tied, a loop of lead rope that hangs down to your horse’s knee or further is absolutely too long. If the horse paws and hangs himself up, you’re likely to see a panicky episode that will scare you to death and can very well result in a severe injury to both the horse and any human who tries to free him. Tie with no more than 2-3 feet of rope between the horse’s nose and the tie rail or ring, tie with a quick release knot, and make sure you pull on the lead and check it before you walk off to ensure that the horse can’t get a few more feet of slack free with the first tug. This is particularly important when tying to the side of the trailer at a trail ride or other event – I always see horses with so much slack in the lead that it scares me. Tie high and short and keep hay nets high and short as well – nothing at leg level. Not ever. Don’t even get me started on “staking out” – yeah, I know there are .0005% of the horses in the world that someone has trained to do this and they’re just fine, but most of the time, it is a train wreck waiting to happen. Don’t do it.
A related problem – tying too long. When your horse is tied, a loop of lead rope that hangs down to your horse’s knee or further is absolutely too long. If the horse paws and hangs himself up, you’re likely to see a panicky episode that will scare you to death and can very well result in a severe injury to both the horse and any human who tries to free him. Tie with no more than 2-3 feet of rope between the horse’s nose and the tie rail or ring, tie with a quick release knot, and make sure you pull on the lead and check it before you walk off to ensure that the horse can’t get a few more feet of slack free with the first tug. This is particularly important when tying to the side of the trailer at a trail ride or other event – I always see horses with so much slack in the lead that it scares me. Tie high and short and keep hay nets high and short as well – nothing at leg level. Not ever. Don’t even get me started on “staking out” – yeah, I know there are .0005% of the horses in the world that someone has trained to do this and they’re just fine, but most of the time, it is a train wreck waiting to happen. Don’t do it.
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2. Uncapped t-posts and other unsafe fencing. Your realtor is most likely NOT a horse expert. Every day, I see properties full of barbed wire and uncapped t-posts marketed as “turn-key horse farms.” While there’s a fairly easy and cheap fix – capping the posts and replacing the barbed wire with another form of fencing like electric rope or tape – beginners are often told “oh, it will be fine.” Look, I could publish gory pictures all day showing that it may not be fine. And while it’s true that horses hurt themselves on other kinds of fence, it’s simply not as common and the injuries are rarely as severe as the injuries from barbs that dig in and tear the flash. With regard to capping t-posts, I once almost lost a horse myself because I failed to do that. A horse who tries to jump out can impale himself on the top of an uncapped t-post, and a horse who is scratching may cut himself. Mine cut herself on the underside of her face, right between the cheekbones and right into her jugular vein. T-post caps are cheap and they slip right on. Go pick some up if you haven’t already.
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3. Pasture obstacles. Horses are not, no matter what anybody tells you, “smart enough” to stay away from tractors, old cars, playground equipment, loose sheet metal, sinkholes and other pasture hazards. If there is a means of self-destruction in their turnout area, they are likely to find and use it. It is important to go out and physically walk your pastures looking for hazards before you ever put a horse out there. I’ve seen old farms where coils of old, rusty barbed wire hid in the weeds. A few years ago, there was a much-publicized case where a beautiful warmblood stallion fell into an old well on a property and broke his neck. You can read several cases on Netposse where the horse was found on the owner’s property stuck in a sinkhole or something similar. I’ve also seen cases where erosion has taken back the edge of a ditch to where the horse can fall in without ever getting outside of the fence. I’ve seen horses kill themselves on things like a rough piece of sheet metal coming off the back of a shed, a support cable for a telephone post, farm equipment that was parked in the pasture for just a day, and the list goes on. If you can’t immediately remove a hazard, shield it from the horses using a few corral panels. These are a quick way to build a barrier around something like an old well, a collapsed building, or some metal pipe to nowhere sticking up out of the ground.
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4. Grass can kill your horse. To make a long explanation short, the sunny and warm days of spring raise the sugar content of grass pasture. This can render grass dangerous to eat – the sugars upset the normal balance in the horse’s digestive tract, resulting in toxins which lead to founder, aka laminitis. Founder is without a doubt one of the worst things that can happen to your horse. In its most severe form, the hooves are so badly affected that the horse must be euthanized. Even in milder forms, it is a management issue and the horse may require a lengthy rehab period, expensive special shoeing, and to be “dry lotted” – kept in a dirt field with no grass – the rest of his life. The classic situation is a beginner who purchases a horse from a boarding barn where it has only gone out in dirt paddocks, brings it home to the idyllic farm they just purchased and puts it out on lush green pasture. The horse looks happy – heck, the horse looks ecstatic – but days later it can hardly walk and by the end of the week, it is dead. Rule number one: Horses do not know what is good for them. They can also founder after getting into the grain – your grain should be kept in a locked room or a spare stall where a loose horse at 3 AM cannot get to it. If you purchase a horse who hasn’t been out on grass, introduce him to it slowly. Start with 15 minutes of grazing and then back into the stall/dirt paddock he goes. Work up by increasing the time a little bit daily until the horse it out 24/7 if that’s what you desire. He won’t like coming back in – but you’ll save yourself a four-figure vet bill and a lot of heartbreak. Another option is a grazing muzzle, which allows the horse to be turned out with the herd and drink but keeps his grass consumption to a minimum. If you’ve purchased a previously foundered horse (your vet can tell you), fencing in a dirt paddock is probably your safest bet.
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FYI, grass clippings from the lawn are never safe for horses. They start to ferment almost immediately in a bag or pile. Hand-picking grass for your paddock kept horse is fine, but the leftover from the mower belongs in the trash heap.
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5. Other horses can kill your horse.  Some boarding barns are just not very smart about turnout. While a certain amount of roughhousing, nipping and the occasional kick is normal in a herd of horses, you will occasionally see a horse who is truly aggressive. He continually runs at other horses, ears pinned, teeth bared. He will start chasing another horse and it won’t end after three strides (that’s normal herd behavior – the chase ends when the submissive horse runs away) – he will chase that horse for laps around the pasture. This horse can kill your horse. This is how horses get so panicked that they do try to jump out of the fence. They can get cornered in a run-in shed or fence corner by a horse like this and kicked so severely they have to be euthanized. Absolutely do not allow your horse to be turned out with a horse like this, even if he does not seem to be the focus of the horse’s aggression. It’s much better that your horse go out in a small paddock by himself.
No, you don’t want to be the overprotective horse parent who has hysterics over a tiny nip mark, but if you’ve ever seen a truly aggressive horse like this in action, you know what I mean. You are the paying customer at a boarding barn, and you do have the right to demand your horse be kept as safe as possible – please don’t back down because someone scoffs at you and tries to make you feel like a stupid beginner. If you are going to make mistakes, erring on the side of caution is always best!
So, what else would you add to the discussion? What do you think are the most important things for first time owners to know – the things that absolutely CAN kill their horse if they don’t know them? I’m not talking about all of the fine points of tack fit – I’m talking about things that can result in life-threatening conditions.
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115 comments to “Best of FHOTD: Beginner mistakes that can kill your horse…”
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I am, admittedly, a beginner with horses. Although I have loved horses since childhood, I was not fortunate enough to have a lot of hands on experience with them until the past couple of years. This past winter, my good friend boarded her horse at a facility where I was able to take lessons and “work” with one of the owner’s mares, as in walk her and groom her and learn a bit of longeing techniques. One day, my friend and I had the mare (a Belgian cross, so a pretty big girl) and her horse tied up in the stables as we were grooming them, and I incorrectly tied the “quick release knot”. As I soon learned, that was a HUGE mistake on my part and I should have done it right because I was shown, and for some dumb reason I can’t even explain, I didn’t do it right. Anyway, the mare stepped close to the stall wall and her foot went in to an indent and she FREAKED out. One moment I am peacefully brushing her, the next moment, I am certain the entire stall wall is going to come crashing down. My friend rushes over to release her lead, and ends up tightening it more because of my incorrect tying. Now the mare begins to frantically thrash around and we can’t get close enough to untie her. Luckily, the trainer of the facility hears the commotion and comes out of the arena and is able to calm the mare down enough so he can get close and undo the knot. Of course, I was not spared the harsh glares and several lectures, which I deeply deserved. I was very lucky she didn’t pull down the entire stall wall because she would have been crushed, and if I would have just tied her right we could have just pulled the end of the lead and she would have been able to escape.
Now I know to listen and do as I am told, because, believe it or not, there’s reasons for handleing horses in certain ways and experienced people aren’t just nagging or picking on you, horses are big, powerful animals that can really do damage if you don’t know what you’re doing.
I also know now not to walk a herd-bound belgian draft cross up an icy road away from her pasture mates when I’ve only handled a horse her size a handful of times prior, but that’s another story…
Fugs thanks for the list… so many valid points! From experience, the only things I could add would be:
1. If you are handling another person’s horse, and they or the their trainer gives you information on how to handle this horse due to certain quirks, neuroses, etc., LISTEN TO THEM!! Although some owners are hopelessly clueless as to how their horse should or does behave, most of the time they are the ones to talk to, and trainers as well spend a lot of time with these horses and generally know them inside and out. I know this from experience as the the little (15.2 h) hunter I free lease does not cross-tie or tie without a wall behind her (like in a proper grooming/wash stall). She ground ties very well though, and this information is made known to anyone who works with her. unfortunately, her braider at on of the shows forgot this, and tied her in the aisle to an open stall door. she decided to pull back, expecting the halter to break, and instead pulled the stall door off it’s hinges. She proceeded to gallop down the barn aisle with a stall door attached to her head. She managed to come out of that incident sound, and with no big scars, but it could have been tragic as she cut a deep vein cluster in her front leg and without the compression bandage and tourniquet that were applied within 15 seconds of her stopping, she might have bled out.
2. Never get lazy when working with your horse. An old friend of mine was taking the blanket off one of her trainer’s OTTB’s and decided that instead of starting from the back and undoing the mare’s leg straps first, she would undo the chest straps first, seeing as she was already at the mare’s head. Before she got to the mare’s hindquarters though, to undo the leg straps, the 4 year old tb spooked, and took off, breaking her halter. The blanket slipped back, got tangled up in her legs, scared her even more, and caused her to gallop around for longer. When she finally stopped from exhaustion, her hind legs were so badly mangled from the leg straps that she had to be put down.
Both incidents were caused by experienced horse people, not beginners, and just show that around horses you can’t really let your guard down, or get complacent, no matter how trivial the task seems!
Tire feeders. More specifically, tire feeders that haven’t been turned. There are places that will turn tractor tires inside out to make them safe for horse feeders. You can also make cuts in the rim to make them safer.
I have pictures of a dear friend’s 2 year old trapped in a tire. She sent him to a trainer that paddocked him with a couple older (and bigger) horses. He got knocked into the feeder, and trapped under the rim.
He suffocated.
I personally hate when everyone teaches the quick release knot. It plain does not work in my opinion. I have had to cut more lead ropes than I would care to mention over 40 plus years of working with horses. Once I learned the bowline knot I have never lost a leadrope again. It is a knot used when tying up boats in a harbour because with the water getting rope wet and the constant movement of the ocean water the boat rising and lower tugging on the rope it does not tighten onto itself. It can always be released even after a horse has set back with all of its might onto the rope.
Colic is the first thing new horse owners should learn about! When I adopted my first horse a year ago she collicked right away unfortunately, but it has been the most useful tool to have. Just knowing the symptoms and what to do can save you lots of money in vet bills and save your horses life!!! Now I know when to call the vet and probably more than I ever thought I wanted to know about colic!
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure your horse has water! Even if your horse’s stall/paddock has an automatic watering system, check the water everyday. Having 2 buckets or one bug tub is a very good idea, so you can make sure there’s always plenty. Buckets tend to get dirty, have hay dropped in them, and sometimes even get pooped in. You should check that the water is fresh and there is plenty of it. In the summer it’s a good idea to hang an extra bucket, just in case it gets really hot and your horse is extra thirsty. As well as in the winter you need to make sure the water doesn’t freeze over. They sell buckets that have heaters in the bottom, and heaters for stock tanks, that are designed too keep the water from freezing but are made so horses can’t burn themselves on them. and I’d say it’s be a wise investment to buy if a $30 bucket or de-icer to save your horse from colic-ing in the middle of a snowstorm when a vet might not be able to make it out to you. Plus you won’t have to hassle with breaking ice and re-filling the bucket it least once a day if you live in a cold area.
At the hunter barn I used to ride at in middles school and high school, there were 4 pastures. Each horse was *clearly* assigned to one pasture with a specific herd. The back pasture was the older horses and some of the ponies. One very foolish boarder (whom we all disliked) decided her OTTB could go out- with his spiffy nylon halter on- with the back pasture. He did not belong in that pasture, he belonged in the front pasture with the tougher horses that could keep him in-line. My friend and I who were student workers there were going to bring in that pasture for dinner- not knowing genius there had stuck him out there. He had frightened the herd so much that he had them (he chasing) galloping around the pasture. My friend and I were trapped against the round bale for time, afraid to try to cross the space to the gate in fear of getting caught in the herd.
I’m not sure how they were able to get that gelding out, but the boarder was soon asked to leave.
There is no excuse for such stupidity. Each horse had its own pasture assignment clearly printed on their information sheet on the front of their door with their feed requirements and owner contact info.
Cathy – can you please repost the Equine Literacy post for April 28, 2009? I bookmarked it, but all the comments were removed, and I didn’t have a chance to capture everyone’s suggestions before they were removed. Thanks!
Hay or access to grazing might be necessary in the winter even if grain is fed. Check hay for molding (I don’t like round bales for horses for this reason).
Check for poisonous plants in the pasture
Latch the gate securely so a curious horse playing w/ a chain couldn’t “accidentally” open it
Agree 110% about the water!!! Certain areas in the summer, the water can actually feel as hot as bath water by afternoon and may need refreshed.
Horses need to be of similar size to be pastured together!
Please don’t turn out your 13 hand pony with a 17 hand Clydesdale. I mean, c’mon, that pony stands no chance against even a glancing kick to the head. Ditto with your mini running with your quarter horse.
1–Before you need one for an emergency, schedule a vet visit to meet a vet & get established.
2–Learn the signs of the two biggest life-threatening problems–colic & founder/laminitis. Then learn other “Red Alert” things.
3–Grain–you probably do not need it. Most horses will do fine on hay and/or pasture alone. Too much grain can kill; it might be slow death thru IR or quicker thru laminitis.
4–Water–never let it run out & keep it clean. If you are in cold climates, keep the ice broken in winter.
oldmorgans.blogspot.com
A beginner mistake that is quite common here is turning horses out with other “potentially dangerous” livestock, mainly cattle.
I worked at a western barn that centered around reining and cutting. They had a herd of about 25 long horn cattle. They used these cattle to practise their cutting. I will point out the danger came with the fact this cattle were NOT de-horned. Some had solid 2-3 feet worth of horn protruding from their heads.
I myself was never around when students practised this but I did hear the trainer complain about how the owner of the farm allows this and does nothing to stop it. Her horses, his cattle.
My concern came when I was out in the back feeding the newly purchased horse stock. For a bit of a background, this owner would bulk buy about 5-10 horses, have his trainer ride and assess them than either keep them as breeding stock or pawn them off to someone else. These were your typical bull dog like ranch quarter horse looking animals. (Ive never been much of a qh fan so I apologize).
Anyways I was out feeding one day and realized he now “expanded” the fields and stock yard so they were one giant paddock. Meaning the horned cattle and horses were in the same area. For the first few days I never noticed anything. No wounds to speak of, aggression, nothing. After about a week I noticed the horses would what I would call “provok/attempted play” with the cattle. Needless to say the cattle werent impressed and would charge. I informed the trainer and she said she would talk to the owner. Another week passed with nothing being done.
For the first time in about a month he came to the barn so I told him about my concern. He completely sluffed me off and said they would be fine. Two days later as I walked out the stockyard shed (the door is at the back of the shed and you walk through that to get to the feeding area) to find a fair amount of blood on the cement stockyard.
Long story short it looked like one of the horses was impailed in her flank. The owner came down and put her in a stall in the main barn. Took him 5 hours to decide to call a vet.
The trainer finally put her foot down and convinced him to keep the horses and cattle separate. Hasnt been an incident since. I quit there shortly after for mainly other reasons, most surrounding the fact that this barn was a zoo.
So basically, I think beginners should avoid mixing stock in their fields. If you dont have enough room to have serparate living spaces than pick and choose. The last thing you want is a hefty vet bill.
I agree completely about the water. I’m at a barn right now that is supposed to be full care. The BO believes that the horses don’t need much water in the winter and that they will eat the snow if they get thirsty. Luckily I make it down to the barn twice a day so I spent the whole winter last year hauling buckets of water to my horse because the BO wouldn’t water. At least my horse was fine but one of his horses colicked and died last winter and he still can’t figure out why. Sigh.
I too was a complete beginner when I got my first horse. Remembering some of the things we did like turning out with a nylon halter and having barbed wire still make me cringe. Thankfully my poor mare survived the first couple of years with my ignorance and she’s now going on her 11th year with us as the spoiled princess of the family.
One of the things I wish more beginners would do before taking on a horse is learn about nutrition. It doesn’t take a whole lot of knowledge to at least be able to keep your horse at a decent weight. One barn I was at was self care with almost no management. Most of the boarders were rank beginners that didn’t even know where to begin with feeding. I could not count on my fingers how many horses lost significant weight while being there. And I don’t just mean some ribs showing. I’m talking 1′s and 2′s. My poor gelding was one of them and by the time I bought him he was a walking skeleton. I think too many people are not prepared for the expense and try to cut corners with feeding or just really don’t know how a healthy horse is supposed to look.
On the subject of other horses killing horses. Be wary mixing horse sizes, as Geekagirl said. A 17.2hh horse I rode out (and needed a ladder to get off) at a stables local to my mum, great horse and looked after me, BUT the riding school got him cheap after he kicked a pony in the head, just once, killed the pony instantly, had they been more matched in size it may well have not been as serious! (This saved him himself visa versa when my mum was riding out on another horse who’s about 15hh with him behind, her horse took a dislike and booted him – thankfully was only able to reach his shoulder and everyone was ok!)
About 10 years ago, my old gelding, who was on 90 acres of pasture (most fenced with barbed wire, as it was a cow pasture) Somehow spooked through, or jumped the fence. I went to catch him for flag practice, and spent about 2 hours searching every nook and cranny of the place!
I finally found him at the neighbors pasture. (it boarderd our place) I called him over, and something was very wrong.
He would take a couple steps with with back legs, then sit back, and rear up slightly, and “throw” his whole front end forward.
He was dragging one leg, and had swelling in his chest and shoulder. It took me a little while to figure out were he was hurt, I couldnt find any cuts, or bleeding. Then I found it. He had empaled his “armpit”.
Took him to the vet (I worked there at the time) Sedated him, flushed it, vet felt were it went and how far, and let me feel. I was able to stick my arm into the hole PAST my elbow! Well over a foot deep. He was VERY lucky. The tpost went between his shoulder blade, and body cavity. If he had landed differently it would have gone straight into his lungs and heart. I found the post later, it was slightly bent, and had a few hairs on it.
The top was about 5 1/2 feet out of the ground, I cant even imagine how he did it, or how he got off of it after he impaled himself!
Oh, I still have said horse, he is now 30yrs old, and healthy as a well umm Horse, lol
Hay nets, make sure they are hung HIGH! Horses that like to paw when eating, can get a leg caught, and panic.
Horse trailer door latches, can poke out eyes, cause bad cuts, etc.
I think everything is covered here… If the horse you are handling is not your, make SURE tou listen to the advice and information given by the owner. If they tell you that the horse is great… stay alert until you know him yourself. I once was hired to exercise a horse (Stallion) and I was told he was very good, responsive and calm…. I found neither of this to be true, he was nearly jumping out of his skin, nervous wreck and dangerous. He did not like leg cues and listened poorly to the bit, did not like cinching up and would absolutely not stand for his rider to mount. It was like sitting on dynamite and I quit before I got really hurt… I don’t really need to get seriously injured… plus, I already had about 4 other horses to exercise. He did manage to take a good bite out of my thigh. ALL horses have quirks, none are perfect, so be aware.
No horse needs grain unless he is performing as a race, endurance, cross-country mount. People who think that giving bowl fulls of oats one after the other to their new horse wont harm him are wrong… I see this all the time, horses are stalled up all day and are given 2 cups of Race horse sweet feed twice a day!!!!! This either builds up a bundle of energy that the horse will release as soon as he hits the outdoors or, your horse will colic severely and die. Keep the grain to a minimum, starving rescues don’t even get that amount daily! Simple grass hay (I feed my hay free choice) is enough for them. Note that if you have cold winters (I mean really cold!), that your horses will eat more, so you need to prepare for that. Eating warms up their bodies and they can very well deal with the cold on their own. My horses have no blankets and survive a Canadian winter every year with free choice hay… being outside 24/7 helps them develop a good thick coat. They never come inside unless they are injured, they have a good shelter (4 closed sides with only a door) and they may go in it whenever they like. I live in Canada and we see near -40F during our winters and my horses are always well prepared. Wild horses never had blankets and hardly any shelter, they lived outside and prepared for winter with a thick coat… as for food, I’m not sure what they ate… I’m not against other methods of horse management, but this is mine and it works great!
If you are wondering about our water, we have a drinker that goes deep down in the ground and drains itself after the horses drank. The water never freezes, is warmer in winter and cooler in summer, no electricity needed to make it work, it works with water pressure. Reliably works and has been for nearly two years now. Since our weather is so cold, we’ve wrapped the pipes in heating wire to keep it from freezing… works like a charm!
Hay Learning to tell the difference between, alfalfa, orchard,timothy, mixed hay ect, and how much a flake of hay should weigh (between 7-8 pounds). I’ve seen to many beginners buy a different type of hay every time they go to the feed store (they buy what is cheeper) good way to have a sick horse. Also they think all flakes are created equal, which can lead to either under feeding or over feeding.
Not cooling down a horse properly. Returning them to a stall all hot and sweaty and puffing, allowing them to drink tons of water,feeding them, good way to have a very sick or dead horse
Keep all poisons locked up. Not just out of reach. It’s amazing how long a horse’s neck can be strectched if it really wants omething. It is absolutely terrifying and humbling to be caught in traffic 6 hours from home and get a phone call that one of your horses has just emptied a bag of Diazanon. And no one knows exactly how much was injested.
Here is something that I, as an experienced horse person, did not think of. I was trailering my young connemara along with my daughter’s little pony, and did not think about the heigth of the hay bags. I had previously had only the small pony in there, and did not think to adjust it before loading the bigger one. Once we reached our destination, he got a little restless and started pawing. I looked in and some how he had gotten BOTH front feet in the hay bag hole! I have no idea how it happened, but had someone not come by right at that time with a very sharp knife to cut the bag free, I think he would have seriously hurt himself. Because so much of his wight was on the bag, I could not undo it.
Fortunatly he is calm by nature and did not panick as bad as some would have, but there was no way his feet would have ever gotten freed if not for my friend with a sharp knife. So, two things, pay attention to the hay bag position, and always have a sharp knife or scissors close by.
On somewhat the same note as founder, there is beet pulp. You absolutely have to make sure that your horse doesn’t have access to large, unsoaked, amounts of it. Someone I know almost lost a horse that way.
Hauling. I still think horse trailers are death traps, and I use extreme caution every time I haul my horse anywhere. I’ve owned horses almost 20 years and have seen some very preventable accidents involving horse trailers that haunt me. You can never be too careful with loading, unloading, tying to the trailer, etc. I have also seen some drivers pulling horse trailers going entirely too fast, especially around corners…hey buddy, when you hear/feel THRASHING in your trailer, pull over and check on your damn horses!
Regarding number 3–farm equipment–I can show you pictures of the scar on my filly who (before we got her) untied herself and wandered into a hayfield unattended for five minutes as a baby. There was one piece of farm equipment out there in ten acres of grass, and she she sliced herself open from knee to pastern on it and has a 10 inches long and three inches wide scar still at four years old. Did I mention it was the week before her halter futurity class?
I also know a gelding who broke out of a stall and climbed over a hay baler stored in the barn because someone led his girlfriend past the other side, almost fatally injuring himself. He could have gone around, but he didn’t want to waste time apparently. He usually had a lot of sense, but not for the 60 seconds it took to do that. I also knew a colt who cut his front foot to the bone putting it through a rusty metal water trough that was being used for hay. He almost took the whole foot off. So yeah, if there is something there they can hurt themselves on, they’ll find it. Same goes for poisonous plants. You have to horse-proof things like they are a one year child.
Also, don’t tie the horse to something they can possible pull up or move. My neighbor had her horse pull up the metal pole he was tied to, and he spooked and swung his head around. The pole hit her and broke her back! I know someone that tied their horse to a ladder, and when he pulled back, she got kicked in the head and nearly suffered fatal skull fractures.
One of the biggest beginner mistakes than can kill your horse is not providing dental care!!!! Horses need dental checkups once a year, and not doing this can and will result in a horse that’s in constant pain from lacerated and ulcerated cheeks and tongue, who can’t prorperly chew and digest his food any more, and who will eventually starve to death no matter how much you feed him! Lack of dental care can also cause colic and death from inadequately chewed food, as well as choke. Dental problems can also cause behavioral problems when riding, due to pain from the bit and bridle. If a horse won’t gain weight, it’s often because of dental problems.
More about water- your horse needs a lot more than 5 gallons a day of water! If all you have to give water in is a 5-gallon-or-less bucket, provide multiple buckets, and check them several times a day to refill. Also, make sure water buckets are secured so that bored horses can’t just dump them over! And make sure buckets with handles can’t be pulled off the wall or fence- a leg can get stuck in that bucket handle and broken!
A 20 gallon or larger water tub or trough is not that expensive and will save you a lot of headaches!
I agree about turning out horses and cattle together- I also own both horses and cattle, and one of my steers actually has horns- he has seriously injured one of my other steers by goring him in the flank. He would do the same to a horse that tried to play with him or chase him, he’s just doing what cows do. If any of your cattle have horns, don’t turn your horses out with them!
On a related note- hay is critical in so many ways. Your horse needs hay every day, unless he’s turned out 24/7 on actively growing grass pastures. In winter with no grass, a horse needs 1 to 2% of its body weight in hay and feed- that translates into up to 20 lbs a day of hay- almost half of a square bale. Hay that is ok for cows in NOT necessarily ok for horses! Be wary of hay cut at this time of year, too- the fluctuating fall temps can cause excess sugars in the hay. Stick with hay baled during the summer months when nighttime tems aren’t very cold. The wrong hay can and will founder a horse!
One thing I’ve noticed new horse owners do that’s more pointless and wasteful than dangerous is supplements- most horses don’t need any!!! Some supplements (selenium, for example) can be toxic if you give too much- or even if you give a recommended amount to a horse who gets enough of it from his feed already. If you think your horse needs a supplement, talk to your vet, and have a nutritional analysis done on your feed/hay to determine what’s lacking, then supplement only what your horse actually needs.
The best possible thing a new horse owner can do is to reach out to their local horse community and make friends, so that you have people to learn from and a support network when things go wrong. Join a local horse club, take lessons at a local barn, introduce yourself to any horse-owning neighbors you might have. Have the vet of your choice out to vaccinate, do coggins, and meet your horse(s)- become a patient of record so that in an emergency you have someone to call.
One last tip- visit http://www.safergrass.org and educate yourself on the dangers of grass, and learn how to best manage your pastures for your horse’s health- even if you board, it’s good to learn about it so you’ll know if oyur barn owner is endangering your horse.
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MadisonsMommy says:
I was trailering my young connemara along with my daughter’s little pony, and did not think about the heigth of the hay bags. I had previously had only the small pony in there, and did not think to adjust it before loading the bigger one. Once we reached our destination, he got a little restless and started pawing. I looked in and some how he had gotten BOTH front feet in the hay bag hole! I have no idea how it happened, but had someone not come by right at that time with a very sharp knife to cut the bag free, I think he would have seriously hurt himself. Because so much of his wight was on the bag, I could not undo it.
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The same thing happened to me. I had my 16.3 QH in the front stall of a friend’s three horse slant with a hay bag. He got upset when the other two horses were removed, pawed, and got one foot in the nylon (thank god) manger, and one in the hole in the front of his hay bag. It was terrifying, but luckily, my friend thought quickly, knew where a knife was located, and cut the bag and the straps holding up the nylon manger. Again, I’m lucky he was quiet and did not panic. My horse no longer travels with a hay bag in the trailer.
One more note on hay- if at all possible, buy your entire year’s worth of hay from a single seller, at the same time, preferrably all the same variety and from the same field. This insures consistency so that a sudden change in hay quality doesn’t make your horse sick. If you don’t have room for hay in your barn, stack it on pallets and cover it with tarps- the cost of materials to properly store your hay is a lot cheaper than a singe vet bill!
I was going to say overfeeding, but OneDandyHorse covered that. I’ve seen a lot of ‘fondness feeding’ and ‘but such a big animal can’t live on just’ etc. Read a book about horse nutrition and apply it – and make sure you have clear agreements with the barn owner if you board, about who feeds, how much and what.
Not a killing mistake, but if you’re a beginner, please get a nice 4+ year old and started horse. Please don’t get a baby. I’ve seen that end up going wrong too many times. Raising a young horse to be a pleasant, sensible adult takes a lot of knowledge and experience, knowing when the insist, and knowing when to just leave the baby in the pasture for a while. After a basic level of handling skills and manners training, it’s 20 times easier to screw up a young horse by handling it too much than it is to contribute something to its upbringing. I’ve seen too many youngsters fussed over way too much and turned into insufferable brats.
Haha I know what you mean about the advanced school horses – they would throw me on the crazy ones because the little kids fell right off xD Not exactly the safest barn… and horse trailers are a really big one too, though I think people tend to be more careful about them then say a halter. I’m always really cautious about turning out with halters on because I did know some people whose daughter was lazy and did that… I believe the pony got its halter caught in the fence and broke its neck
It really bothers me that I see so many people who should know better that lead their horses with the rope wrapped around their hands, this was one of the first things i ever learned… my sis and I were very fortunate to have taken lessons with a woman who taught us more than just how to ride, we learned about feeding, worming, and so many other essential tidbits. Although we still had alot to learn when we got our first horse, we had leased for a while (something i think all people should do before buying their first horse) and were boarding at a stable with alot of experinced horse people willing to answer all of our questions.
I was also obsessed with reading all I could about horses and that did help alot…now many years later we have alot of beginners at our barn who ask me for advice…I will answer their questions and then tell them to do some research of their own, you can never know too much…
My mom has also learned alot over the years and taken it as her personal mission to educate those at the barn who are less interested in learning on their own… she constantly prints off new info to post at the barn…her current project is a deworming chart…apparently the kids who buy sorses after just taking lessons for a while had no idea about things like worming…it scares me to think that they may someday take their horses elsewhere, and be responsible for feeding and setting up their own farrier appts… bottom line I think you should at least have to take a course before horse ownership so that you will at least hear what the essential info is rather than having no clue whatsoever!
Great post! Even if you’re not a beginner, it’s always good to review the basics. Adding to the list:
1. Fire safety – NO smoking in or around the barns, EVER…NO exceptions!!! It only takes a few embers to ignite a pile of hay. This also goes for fireworks. Also manure piles should be far enough away so that if they spontaneously combust (I’ve seen it happen), the barn doesn’t catch on fire. Barns should also be equipped with fire extinguishers and electrical wiring has to be maintained. If your BO won’t enforce a no smoking policy, move your horse ASAP.
2. Don’t assume that just because somebody has a lot of “experience” they have a clue. There are a lot of folk tales about how to treat certain ailments. I know of a horse that colicked and died because an Amish farmer with a “lifetime of experience” told the owner to tube it with a garden hose and give mineral oil. When that didn’t work, he had her feed the horse yougurt. She finally called the vet but horse died before he got to her farm. Veterinary science has come a long way, and some things that were accepted practice, are no longer correct.
3. Pay your vet and farrier bills on time. If your horse colics or gets torn up in a pasture accident, your vet will NOT come to your place if you owe money.
4. Make sure you or somebody you trust physically checks your horse for wounds, lameness, swelling, parasites, etc. at least once a day. Untreated cuts, puncture wounds, fractures can be life threatening.
5. Teach your horse ground manners and be sure it will stand still for the vet, farrier, etc. Just a few weeks ago a gorgeous 5-year old registered Arab mare was put down by her new owner supposedly because she “attacked” the vet. This sweet little horse freaked out when they twitched her to make her stand still. She knocked the vet down in her attempt to escape but it was crazy panic rather than aggression.
When unsaddling your horse, undo the breast collar, then the back cinch and finally the main cinch. Pulling a saddle off when only half undone is a big wreck. Always untie your horse before you open the back door to a straight-load trailer. At a 4-H show the mom opened the gate, the horse tried to leave, couldn’t and cut its legs up while it fought at the back of the trailer. Another beginner in our neighborhood always tied her horses up to a gate. The gate was loose lying on the driveway. Never figured out why she wasn’t killed. Don’t tie to the planks of a wooden fence. Another gal lost some teeth that way. Always tie to a solid post or tree. I have had horses for over 50 years and have seen some real odd things with horses. My neighbor is quite experienced with horses and still tied one up at the bottom of the post. That was weird.
I took lessons as a kid but did not get my first horse until 6 years ago. Personally, I could not handle having my horses in someone else’s care so they came here. I spent weeks reading everything I could about housing, fencing, care, and nutrition and talking to everyone I could think of. I also sought out good vet and farrier care. my vet and farrier have been wonderful and extremely helpful. Both have given me many compliments about the way I care for my animals and my vet has said I am one of the only people she would ever trust to take one of her horses. My gelding Sunny foundered and coliced on the same night. My worst nightmare as I was well aware that these are the #1 and #2 killers of horses. My vet was impressed that I had properly diagnosed his founder, she was sure it would just be colic. And I think I won her respect when I was willing to rehab him for a year before riding him again. I learned SO much from this experience, we found out he had cushings and that has led me to learn so much more about equine nutrition. It drives me nuts to see the junk food (even hamburgers!) that people feed their horses. Our horses don’t get a lot of treats but when they do they get prunes, chamomile flowers, milk thistle seed,or pumpkin or sunflower seeds. All in SMALL amounts. And guess what, they love these treats! I am amazed at the long time horse owners that no nothing about nutrition and don’t even know the symptoms of colic or what founder is, scary.
I also agree that hauling is very dangerous for horses and people do really stupid stuff. Not long ago someone I know saw someone hauling a pony in the bed of a pickup down the highway! And my farrier says his latest pet peeve is people who leave the trailer window wide open and drive with the horse’s head hanging out the window. Btw, you can buy an inexpensive camera (the wireless ones they sell so you can see to back up your vehicle) and put the camera in the trailer so you can see the horse while you drive. This could prevent a lot of tragic accidents and injuries.
also forgot to mention if you have the luxury of buying you own horse trailer (sadly i do not ) ive noticed some have a trough that is quite high for hay so that a hay bag is not needed, I would think this would be a much better and safer option…prob would not work for ponies though…have seen this in new and older trailers…
I felt that I just had to comment on the turn out with a halter section. I have grown up in England and I found it quite a shock to arrive in America to have horses turned out in halters period. If you did that in England people would whisper behind your back about how your horse was unable to be caught. And you always had people saying that you would get rubs etc from the halter not to mention caught in fencing etc. To me my goal is that unless I am dealing with horses that are in a rescue any horses I have needs to be caught and have a halter put on in the field. I worked in a competition and breeding yard in England and most yearlings where turned out without halters and could be caught and certainly by the time they were three they were halter free for turnout. To me that solves all worries of anything getting stuck or broken.
I have to say though that as a beginner owner I was clueless about feeding my arab who in many ways was an easy keeper but as soon as he got anything that was better than hay he lost it and got totally hyper and we did not get the best advice from others either to the point we were encouraged to keep his weight low. If guilty about that to this day. When I got a horse later that started losing weight and was a picky eater I went straight for the beet pulp and it worked like a charm.
Oh my – sooo many ways your horse can die!!! ACK!
Giant Beginner Mistake Not Yet Mentioned: Breeding your mare.
One of the most valuable relationships you will have is with your veterinarian. When your horse is colicking at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night you are not going to get a vet to come out unless you have a prior relationship with him. I’ve had a relationship with my vet for 17 years and we are on a first name basis but still the first question I get asked when I call him after hours is am I a client. I see it all the time…people posting about their horse that is dying but they can’t find a vet that will come out “What do I do?, What do I do?”. They’ve either neglected to establish a relationship with their vet or even worse abused the relationship by not paying for services rendered.
arcticwoman said “I have also seen some drivers pulling horse trailers going entirely too fast, especially around corners…hey buddy, when you hear/feel THRASHING in your trailer, pull over and check on your damn horses!”
Amen sister!! This is all too familliar. We are lucky enough to own our own trailer now, but in years past we had to rely on a “friend” to haul for us. She was a terrible driver… too bad for our horses we learned that the hard way, but we did learn. We had to make her follow us anytime we went anywhere so we could rate her speed.
Said “friend” later stole our mare and vanished. We never did find either of them. Not to name any names but *cough*Penny*cough*Stinett*cough*
>>No horse needs grain unless he is performing as a race, endurance, cross-country mount. People who think that giving bowl fulls of oats one after the other to their new horse wont harm him are wrong< <
I agree completely. I grain (a) growing babies (b) senior horses that need the extra calories and (c) horses in HARD work, i.e. playing polo 3 days a week.
If your horse is not fat, shiny, and imbued with sufficient energy for normal pleasure riding on 4 flakes of quality hay a day, the odds are you have an issue with worms, teeth, or something else health-related.
Fugly you have mail. You are gonna LOVE this one. Looks like on top of faux rescues we might also have a faux humane association.
Re: today’s post
I do NOT get why there is so much barbwire used for fencing. These days with the price of various metals it is actually more expensive than safer fencing or about the same as stock panels at least in this area. Anyone who has seen the physical devastation (or worse) caused by a horse getting into barbwire would never be able to shed their mind of the visuals. Ever. Or afford the repair job. Ever.
Beginner mistakes…
Thinking you know it all
Educate yourself thru magazines like Horse and Rider, Eqqus, Practical Horseman. etc. A years subscription is about $12.
DON’T think that your vet/ blacksmith OR trainer is GOD. I am not saying don’t trust them but if the answer they give you doesn’t satisfy then get another opinion. If your instinct is telling you something is amiss then on your own do some research. You are not required to stay with that person.
This is your horse, you pay the bills. You, alone, are responsible for this animals wellbeing. If you can’t handle it, sell it.
Little kids and horses don’t mix well unless supervised by an experienced, competent adult.
Same for dogs, motorbikes, skidoos, guns & quads and horses.
If you feel uncomfortable to the point of fear when working with your horse, with or without a trainer then STOP and put the horse away until you can get help.
Don’t ride alone.
If it looks unsafe, don’t do it.
Get a prior history in the horse. Talk to the person who worked with him last if you can. Don’t buy it because it is “cute”.
The biggest piece of advice I can give is LESSONS FIRST, THEN LEASE A HORSE FOR 6 MONTHS. If you plan on riding thru the winter, lease a horse in the winter. The way they behave in the winter and how they behave in the summer can be night and day. I always say, you don’t really know what kind of horse you have until you go thru all four seasons.
i have one that likes to remove the t-post caps. he will follow behind you taking them off. what i have found works is either epoxy glue inside the cap or sticky chewed gum. it makes it harder for him to get the caps off and he looses intrest. i do agree too about the bucket loads of grain thing. i give my horses a daily vitamin mineral pellet,1oz of brewers yeast and the easy keepers a half a cup of grain (except the pony!) but most of mine are problematic and require special diets so we go through alot of feed!. i like to feed a pelleted feed such as kent dynasty pro they digest it better. no pieces of corn or oats in the poo. and lots of soaked beet pulp! nothing keeps a hard keeper in good condition then added soaked beet pulp! much better then excessive grain! plus i feed mine hay three times a day i have 6 horses( well 5 1/2 one is a little obese pony!) they get a bale am noon and pm so three bales a day
phantom_horse i too have a arab that if fed grain bounces around like a 5yr after eating candy. we found a low sugar low starch pelleted feed does the trick for him
OH!
Also to add, best not to leave the front trailer door, the people escape door, open while the horse is inside and unattended. Usually happens at a show or hunter pace.
I know of BO horse who, during a break between dressage classes, tried to jump thru that door. Cleared the breast bar and the hay bag and got hind legs stuck on breast bar. He was halfway HANGING out the door. She was convinced one front leg was broken or dislocated becasue of the angle he landed on it. Amazingly he got out with a few minor scrapes. This was a seasoned horse. He had been to many shows and just was spooked by something behind the trailer. The trailer rocked twice then he jumped! He is also a 16.3 TB!
Don’t leave your grain in an unsecured place. When I first started keeping horses at my own place I kept the grain in a garbage can underneath an overhang outside of my barn. One of my minis broke out of the pasture, got into the grain, and ate a large amount, causing her to colic. After two weeks and several vets visits and hospitalization, she was ultimately euthanized.
Some very good posts. I will add some guidelines that my mom drilled into me. If you won’t drink out of the horse’s water bucket it isn’t clean enough for the horse. If you won’t sit down anywhere in the horse’s stall, it isn’t clean enough for him. If you won’t eat out of the horse’s feed bucket, it isn’t clean enough for him. If you won’t wrap up in the horse’s winter blanket, it isn’t clean enough or him. There is a pattern here.
For the human side, tie safely, and for the love of God do NOT handle horses in open toed shoes or sandals. Wear sturdy boots.
You are never going to get rid of the idiots who tie horses to things that will break or come loose. There is some sort of ‘I am a stupid human about tying horses’ gene that we have not been able to remove from the population.
To add to all of the suggestions above:
Understand your tack! Know which direction a halter goes. Be able to look at a bit and figure out which way the bit should go into the horse’s mouth and lie on the tongue. Be able to take your tack apart for cleaning and put it back together correctly and completely.
I’ve seen so many upside-down cheap-ass curb bits on horses, so many curb straps adjusted too tightly or utter useless because they are just hanging there. Or upside-down snaffles with the curb strap placed in front/before the headstall or behind the reins (when putting together a ring snaffle, the headstall goes on, then a curb strap just to keep the rings from flipping, then the reins. I know you all know what I’m talking about …).
When you understand the hows and whys of tack, you will be better able to make minor repairs should you have a problem out on a ride—or more importantly, you will be able to take proper care of your stuff and spot a potential problem before you find yourself having a disaster! How did I learn this? A flimsy, delicate show headstall, Paint Mare from Hell rubbing her face against a ratty arena fence, broke headstall, and took off running with me just aboard, reins in hand. Good thing I was a stupid kid who had the daring to reach over and loop one of the reins over Candy’s nose (something we practiced riding in the pasture, a la “Indian” style and bareback) and I was able to pull her to a stop and get off of her in one piece.
Seriously, with all of my equine mishaps, I should be dead, I’m already plenty crippled from my accidents while a kid.
Here we go:
1. Dogs. With the exception of dogs specifically trained to go on trail rides with their owners, ALL dogs must be either on the leash, tethered or secured (in, say, an empty stall) while people are riding. Period. A dog that chases horses endangers the dog, the horse, the rider and even spectators (Try being slammed into a barbed wire fence by 900 pounds of bolting pony plus 100 pounds of rider because a KNOWN chaser dog was not tied up properly). If you’re using a dog as vermin control, it should still be confined while people are riding…a JRT is unlikely to kill your horse, but your horse could easily kill your JRT.
2. Other livestock…I used to ride at a terrible two bit barn (Same place where the dog chased the pony into the barb wire)…and they let sheep, goats and a pig wander into the arena while people were riding. If you have livestock as pets or as extra company for your horse, they too should be secured while you are riding.
3. Pasture gates should be padlocked (Stalls should not be due to the risk of fire). A padlock is the only way to be absolutely sure some idiot won’t take a short cut across your pasture…or wander in to say ‘hi to the pretty ponies’…and leave the gate open. I’ve seen it happen. It won’t stop a determined rustler, but it will stop the idiots. I recommend ‘Don’t feed the horses’ signs too.
4. Grain should be kept in secured, padlocked bins. Especially if you happen to have raccoons in the area. Not only do you not want your horse getting in the grain and making itself ill, but rat droppings in the feed can give your horse nasty diseases.
5. If you have any of the old metal ground feeders…get rid of them. Now. I had a horse lame himself on one of those.
6. Quarantine new horses and introduce them to the herd carefully. Horses can hurt each other a fair bit. Separate horses that fight or show signs of disliking each other (If nothing else, being stalled next to a horse she doesn’t like can make a horse anxious and stressed. I’ve even seen it make a horse aggressive…to humans).
7. Don’t get religious about shod vs barefoot. Find a *good* farrier (Ask local trainers you respect who they use) and ask him or her whether the horse needs shoes. If you’re lucky, and your non-show horse does not need them, you can save a lot of money…there’s no sense shoeing a horse that’s fine and happy without them. But some horses NEED shoes, either because of their foot conformation, their hoof quality, or the job they are doing.
8. Never. Ever. Trail ride alone. No matter how experienced you are.
9. Just because your riding instructor let you or asked you to ride the crazy Paint mare who’s previous owner never actually disciplined her (Grrr. I think she’s a Parelli fail…lovely horse, but the temper tantrums have got to stop) does not mean you should go right out and BUY a horse like that. What you can handle in a set routine, with a trainer always watching you is more than what you can deal with on your own. Start with a nice schoolmaster and work up to the psychos.
Yes. I ride the ‘advanced horses’ too. And the ones that are still being trained (It can take up to six months to train a schoolie properly).
Anyone else think that a completely bombproof mare who thinks that she can get whatever she want by throwing tantrums then goes back to being sweet as pie and trying to give you neck hugs is a Parelli victim? I am *seriously* beginning to wonder…
>>Also to add, best not to leave the front trailer door, the people escape door, open while the horse is inside and unattended. Usually happens at a show or hunter pace.
I would go with: don’t leave horses in the trailer unattended, period. I have seen a 170 cm warmblood open the people escape door from the inside by himself, squirm out of his halter (surprisingly the halter was fine :-/), climb over the breast bar and out of the people escape door which was tiny!! Miraculously he didn’t seem to have any major injuries from his escape at first glance, but now you still have a loose horse running around! Trailer parking areas at shows are usually not horse-safe around my area, so if a horse does get loose, it can easily, for example, run into traffic. An idle horse in a trailer can get into all different kinds of trouble. It’s safer just to have someone there to keep an eye out at all times.
Question about grazing muzzles:
A couple of horses at my barn (the one I muck at) are F.A.T. One is the size of a baby whale. Seriously.
Any suggestions for grazing muzzles and feeding options? I like the one linked to in the post, what other options are there?
They are on roughly 18-hr turnout, spend the night inside, the pasture is getting kind of sparse because of winter. They get 1 flake (roughly 7 pounds) of hay at night, free choice hay during the day.
Very little grain, a few low sugar, low starch pellets for meds (which I don’t think they’ll need if they lose the weight).
My boss is too sensitive about putting on the grazing muzzles, I’ll probably put them on for her because they are morbidly obese, and will benefit from losing at least 200 lbs apiece.
@al2payne: Definitely agree on stall cleanliness!!! Those who muck on days I don’t drive me absolutely insane.
They:
a. don’t get all those little poop bits and wonder why we have swarms of flies
b. don’t clean out the water buckets and wonder why the water is black- prior to my dumping them and revealing massive turds (one time I found a drowned bird)
c. don’t bank the shavings against the walls and wonder why one of the horses’ sides was totally scraped up (I found the cast horse when I arrived at work the next morning, thank god she didn’t colic- no more halter classes for her)
d. don’t do a quick exam of every horse when they bring them in- I let out the horses one morning to discover one of the geldings had a huge rock (the size of my fist) wedged neatly in his shoe, and he’d had it there for at least 12 hours
e. don’t put the right hay into the stalls (is it really that hard to see the difference between first cut and third cut hay?) and wonder why one of the horses is breaking out in hives and another is coughing because of the excess dust
And for tying horses, there is this great invention called the “Blocker Tie Ring” that feeds out a little rope to stop the panic but keeps them secure.
Seriously, I don’t even own horses (yet), and I bet I could take care of one better than a lot of people who currently own them, and I’m not afraid to tell someone if they are doing something wrong. I just told my boss that one of her geldings’ feet looked crappy (long toes, all flare, terrible pastern angles) and that she needs a new farrier because he’s not doing anything to fix it.
ez2bbad64 we feed him chaff not sure if that is over here as I have never seen it. It is like small chopped up hay with a little extra and I have to say that he bounce like mad with that. I think what we really needed to do was just give him unlimited hay but that barn we were at didn’t like that to much. However I had to sell him when I moved here but I keep in touch with my friend who has him and he is now doing great. It happened the first winter we got him so I think it was just him adjusting. Plus he also started getting a lot more work which always helps
In New Zealand:
RYE GRASS STAGGERS
NZ’s newest hit export is milk. The cows graze on lush rye grass, its cheap to buy and easy to grow. But in spring to autumn this grass can, and will cause your horse to stagger. If this continues then your horse can end up with permananmt brain damage and or put itself through a/many fence/s onto the road or into a creek or ditch. The best way to describe rye grass staggers is like a drunk, paranoid horse.
To avoid this all you need to do is give your horse extra magnesium. I buy dolomite, its a very cheap blend of magnesium and calcium. Give your horse about a teaspoon a day in feed, or sprinkle it over the paddocks.
If you find your horse with staggers (the horse maybe more reactive than normal, tripping, falling over often or not working the same under saddle) then put it instantly onto a paddock with dirt for grass, feed copious amounts of hay and TOXIN BINDERS.
Toxin binders like alleviate, equiguard plus and all the others that are out there these days are expensive. This is a reality. But they are needed. Horses that get staggers often can become mentally impared and dangerous. They are out of their own minds and do not understand or even know whats happening. They can easily kill a person in the process because they are drunk and edgy. One of my horses (this is the one i learned from and it still saddens me to this day that this is what eventually killed him) had to be PTS because he got it so badly the vet could not trust him not to go through the wooden corral he was in and end up on the road. Not only after that he was unable to ever be ridden again as too much damage had been done to his brain. He became a cabbage.
Some horses dont suffer from it as badly as my main man did, but it still uncomfortable and dangerous to all involved.
PS. never turn your back on a horse with staggers, they are unpredictable and if they spook they could go over you, not around. Treat with caution and prevent, its cheap enough to.
Some of the old time sayings on feeding your horse are not true. Do you research before you believe anything.
My favorite one is:
Horses must be cooled down after exercise before letting them drink. For generations horsemen have been warned against allowing their “hot” horses to drink because of a perceived risk of colic and cold-water founder. However, with the possible exception of very hard galloping, it is safe for horses to drink right after exercise. In fact, recent research has shown that withholding water after exercise may be more of a disservice because it prolongs dehydration. Horses are more likely to drink and replenish fluid lost in sweat soon after exercise when their thirst drive is high, compared to waiting until they are “cool” and have lost interest in drinking.
Check out this website to find a article written on feeding myths written by Lori K. Warren who has a Ph.D. in Equine Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from the University of Kentucky.
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs3243
It also addresses many types of grain, alfalfa and another favorite “beet pulp has to be soaked before you feed it”.
This concerns the safety of the owner/handler. No matter how experienced you are, never, ever, become complacent regarding your own safety when working around horses. The owners of a barn I previously boarded at were both seriously injured, one nearly fatally during a routine morning feeding. The husband was in one stall, opening the door to the adjoining paddock. The horse occupying the stall was notoriously jumpy and known to charge through doors. Guess what? The horse charged through door, over the man causing a serious injury to his shoulder which required surgery and many months of rehab. Meanwhile, the wife was feeding the horse in the adjacent stall. All the commotion caused the second horse to become fired up and a small rodeo ensued, resulting in the woman being kicked in the face. She was knocked out with a deep gash that narrowly missed her temple and required many stitches. These were experienced horse people. The incident really took the wind out of their sails and not long after they sold their property and horses.
Off topic: I like outting sons of bitches. So here’s the information on PACKED HOUSE, one of the OTTBs recently saved fromthe Enumclaw (sp?) Auction and placed with a rescue. Maybe this has been published before; if so, sorry; if not, here goes…
PACKED HOUSE, 2005 dk bay or br G
9 starts: 0 – 0 – 2 $ 3,250.
First 4 starts, Dana and Orr Halvorson owners. Trainer Ed Moger, Jr.
05/09/09 New trainer Steve Bullock, horse finished a solid third.
07/04/09 New owner Gregory W. Biddell. New trainer Brent Lyon.
08/22/09 Finished third “with a solid rally.†Trainer Armando Rodriguez. Same owner.
09/04/09 Finished fourth. Same owner and trainer.
09/17/09 Back to trainer Brent Lyon. Gregory W. Biddell still owner. In this last race, PACKED HOUSE ran for $5K tag and finished fifth out of eight. Finished the race appearing to be sound.
Race history:
Emerald Downs 9/17/09 Race 1 Maiden Claiming
Emerald Downs 9/04/09 Race 8 Maiden Claiming
Emerald Downs 8/22/09 Race 1 Maiden Claiming
Emerald Downs 7/04/09 Race 4 Maiden Claiming
Emerald Downs 5/23/09 Race 3 Maiden Claiming
Emerald Downs 5/09/09 Race 2 Maiden Claiming*
Golden Gate 4/18/09 Race 9 Maiden Claiming
Golden Gate 3/27/09 Race 6 Maiden Claiming
Golden Gate 3/07/09 Race 2 Maiden Claiming
I’ll get the others in a few minutes.
Fiber supplements for de-sanding should be used regularly and carefully.
I have seen many sand colic’s and I have also seen several horses become ill from what a vet considered too much de-sanding. That was in horses brought to Florida and not accustomed to regular de-sanding and/or inexperience owners were giving too much of the fiber supplement too often. It seems that there is quite a delicate balance in the horses digestive system and although eliminating the sand is a good thing, there can be too much of a good thing. (Bottom line here is have a vet check your new horse before you do anything extreme. Sand or no sand.)
My vets says to check the poop for sand by putting it in a water filled clear plastic bag and agitating. The water and poop become soup and the sand settles in a bottom corner of the bag when you tilt it slightly. You will find a lot of sand when a horse is turned out on a bare pasture or if you just make a habit of dropping hay on the sand. I do the check every now and then to make sure all is well and any time a new horse comes on to the property to stay.
I add 1/2 cup of a pelleted fiber supplement every weekend for 3 consecutive meals. It is not what is directed on the supplement container but my vet says keep doing it because it has been working for my horses for many years.
There are places where stringy hay mixed with sand and water is called adobe. That does not sound too good for a horse does it?
Thought of another one- Pay attention to the shoes. Don’t just pet your horse in the stall and assume that he can walk.
If the shoes are not on securely they need to come off. A beginner should not attempt to pull a shoe. Call a farrier and do not wait for a day or two. Call in to work and get that shoe off!
I know of a horse that had a bent shoe that the barn help missed when they brought him in and out for 2 days. As he walked on it a nail became distorted and went into his foot. He received very good care for an entire month after the problem was discovered but he had developed an infection that the veterinary hospital could not cure. His foot disintegrated. They put him down.
Love this topic lol. Some of the stuff obviously happened to me as a first timer, but I’m slowly but steadily learning.
Number 1 in my books: There’s a reason for some sayings, such as “Green plus green equals black & blue”. For real. A rank beginner has no business buying a green/young horse. It might be kinda sorta okay if they have a super-helpful-totally-hands-on-mega-experienced trainer, but that’s of course not usually the case.
Another one is, if you don’t have the money to call the vet, you shouldn’t have a horse. They’re expensive, end of story. Don’t buy one if you can’t afford to shoe, vaccinate, geld, or God forbid have an emergency farm call.
Oh, here’s one that relates directly to my most recent experiences: drinking and horses doesn’t mix. Party girls, you know who you are: Please stop trying to run barrels while wasted.
Sillymoose says:
November 5, 2009 at 11:36 am
I agree completely about the water. I’m at a barn right now that is supposed to be full care. The BO believes that the horses don’t need much water in the winter and that they will eat the snow if they get thirsty. Luckily I make it down to the barn twice a day so I spent the whole winter last year hauling buckets of water to my horse because the BO wouldn’t water.
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Yeah, right, and I drink less in the winter. *head-desk*
Sounds more like a case of lazy BO not wanting to drag a hose around in the cold.
Give your BO the URL to FHOTD. Maybe we’ll whip some sense into them.
I’m a beginner and ignored all the suggested rules of experience prior to owning a horse. I’d had only a few months of lessons before getting my own first horse. However, like a LOT of people here, I read everything I could before getting a horse, I worked with a trainer for 3 months (a tune-up for the horse, and basics for me like groundwork lessons, including how to halter and lead!), and I completely lucked out and got an angel of a horse (and I know I say that every time I post, but I am just completely entranced by him and cannot contain myself). And I’m still buying horse books a year later! I just ordered “101 Arena Exercises” because I am finally confident enough to ride outside my lessons, and want to have something to do other than walking around in slow circles (which my horse finds boring, and so he looks for ways to amuse himself).
So I have avoided or learned how to avoid a lot of stupid things: no halter in turnout, don’t pull out a nail until the vet is there (luckily this has not happened yet), I was careful about saddle fit, use a plain single joint snaffle, no grain, and I always wear my boots when I go into his pasture or take him out despite the overwhelming temptation at times to leave my tennies on, etc. This website helped tremendously! I had been reading this site about a year prior to getting my horse.
However, every once in a while, I still have a stupid question. My trainer, vet, and farrier are subjected to most of my questions, but here’s a few new ones! Any help would be greatly appreciated, and yes, I should change my name to “paranoidhorsemommy.”
1. This one is EXTRA dumb, and I suspect I know the answer, but… Are carrot greens OK for horses? My grocery store cuts them off, but said I could have them. I can’t imagine why these wouldn’t be OK, but, again, I am paranoid… All I feed him other than his hay (he is in drylot where I board) is a soaked pelleted hay so I can give him Cosequin and a flax (ground and stabilized with calcium added) supplement because he is prone to dandruff, apples, carrots, and all-natural horse cookies (they are local and are actually soft!). And I hand graze him on grass for 20 or so minutes a day. I have not been bold enough to try anything else!
2. Regarding pasture obstacles… Is it OK to leave a jolly ball out in pasture? It is made for horses, but I have visions of my horse tripping over it, so I am afraid to leave it. Do people leave these out all the time?
3. I don’t know the name of the fencing my horse has. It is just three wire lines/coils (between posts obviously), each of which is wrapped in some sort of plastic. I’m guessing this is not ideal, but my horse seems to have no interest whatsoever in escaping. My question is, should I replenish the strips of flagging and/or tarps when they fade/tear off, even though my horse has been there for a year and surely knows where the fenceline is by now? Is there a chance he would panic and not see the fence after all this time? I do re-tape the connectors when needed so there is no mane tearing.
4. Does anyone put a tail wrap in a horse turned out 24/7? Is that safe? My guess is not, because it could catch on something and he would pull his tail out, but I’m not sure.
I have more, but I will save them for the vet!
Thanks!
I agree whole heartedly with the water statement, but you also need to provide SALT. Either loose in a feeder or in block form. Lack of salt can kill an otherwise healthy horse.
Never tie to a trailer that isn’t hitched up. A frightend horse could pull hard enough to drag it some distance or topple it over on themselves. Same thing with stall doors, gates, fence panels, or tie rails that have half rotted in the ground…(I had that one happen, lucky the horses (two) only had scrapes from the bouncing tie rail and posts).
I have turned my 4 horse slant load trailer into 2 box stalls with the bottom of the dividing wall solid and haul the horses loose. They can move around and get in the position they prefer, (most prefer to haul backwards) they aren’t going to mess with the horse next to them, if something happened and one fell no legs are going to get tangled. Their hay is on the floor so they are eating normally, not with thier head stuck up so they cant cough. If they are on a long haul they have a bucket of water. I make sure there are windows & vents open at all times. I NEVER ship with boots & blankets.
I have seen some people try to load horses in weird and totally stupid ways and I won’t haul for them. I have seen people hauling horses down the highway with heads sticking out the open dropdown windows, not caring that a head could be hit by another vehicle. I once saw a leg sticking through the floor of a trailer. Another time on a 95 degree day at a rest area someone opened a brand new horse trailer. Inside was a horse in full blankets, leg wraps and polo wraps, hood, head bumper. His windows were all closed. When the woman finally decided to take the blanket off the poor horse he was literally soaked and dripping and the blanket was creating a puddle from sweat.
On another note, this last week I let someone ride my horse. I wasn’t feeling well so I told her to use his western saddle and I went home to bed. She used someone elses saddle, now he is so soar he almost killed me today when I saddled him for a ride. So I will now clearly mark which tack is used for which horse.
Trailers — do not leave ANY door open when the horse is inside — okay, maybe the back upper door. A wonderful multi-champion show horse decided, for some reason, to attempt to climb out the head door — yes, that approximately 2×2 opening — while the trainer had stopped for a meal. He managed to get head, neck, one foreleg and shoulder out the door.
To make a long sad story short: He was euthanized on the spot — there was no way to get him out at all. The body had to be dismembered to remove it. The trailer tie was still connected to his halter.
The trainer has told the story many times in hope that no one else ever suffers the same heartbreak.
Old bathtubs are often re-used as water troughs, but I know a horse that broke it’s neck because it got it’s halter hung up on the faucet that was never taken off! To this day, if I see a bathtub water trough with the faucet still on it I remove it myself and gently educate the owner. Most hadn’t thought of the danger and are grateful.
I just started college at a school with a well-known riding program. My roommate brought her horse to school (she is from New Jersey and the school we attend is in Virginia). Although I love the girl, she has terrible ideas when it comes to horses. She puts multiple heavy-weight blankets on her Quarter Horse on days when it is 50 degrees+ because she does not want it to grow hair for the winter. When her horse comes in dripping with sweat, she says that she is fine. She doesn’t believe that her horse can colic from overheating. She also admits to having her horse’s head tied up for certain western pleasure shows. I’ve also seen her on multiple occasions leading her horse without a lead rope. I’ve tried on many occasions to explain the danger of all of these things, but she is convinced that because her old trainer did it, that it is okay. Ignorance in horse owners is a very frustrating thing, especially when I cannot afford a horse and I know much more about horses than her.
I am very lucky and started volunteering at a ranch where I now board my horse. I know the owners, they are super experienced, and look out for me. I never had the chance to make any beginner mistakes. I have seen many though. One is the way beginners will turn their horses out to pasture. At my boarding facility we always, always, turn the horses around to face us and the gate before we undo their halters and let them go. It greatly reduces the danger of being kicked at. Another is changing hay too quickly. We buy different hay in the summer than in the winter but we very gradually change it so they don’t colic or anything.
About fhotd’s post on grain… We tend to give the horses Bermuda Pellets which they think are grain just because of their shape and size. That way they never get hyper etc and they still get the idea that they are getting a treat. We do feed Race Ready to the endurance horses for about a week before, during, and after the race and occasionally give grain to either the seniors, foals or barrel racers depending on what they need to be in good shape.
always always always check your stall at shows BEFORE putting your horse in. Check the entire stall, walls, floor, bucket hooks everything.Too many people just throw their horses in and go unload everything. My mom had a white standardbred some years ago and didn’t check the stall. They come back about half an hour later and the horse has almost torn her ear off. They look around (after calling the vet) and sure enough big ol’ rusty nail in the wall. I can’t stress enough about the t-posts, don’t just put caps on them get the whole t-post cover that covers the whole thing. We had a beautiful Danish filly who was running in the pasture and slipped and fell on a t-post. She tore all the skin on one of her legs off. There was a giant flap of skin hanging down. $3000 dollars later she was ok, but now has one nasty scar all over her leg, a bone chip in her knee, and a checker board on her chest from all the skin grafts that had to be done.
moral of the stories:
Check your stalls
cover all of the t-post
CleanStalls says:
November 5, 2009 at 4:29 pm
@al2payne: Definitely agree on stall cleanliness!!! Those who muck on days I don’t drive me absolutely insane.
They:
a. don’t get all those little poop bits and wonder why we have swarms of flies
b. don’t clean out the water buckets and wonder why the water is black- prior to my dumping them and revealing massive turds (one time I found a drowned bird)
c. don’t bank the shavings against the walls and wonder why one of the horses’ sides was totally scraped up (I found the cast horse when I arrived at work the next morning, thank god she didn’t colic- no more halter classes for her)
d. don’t do a quick exam of every horse when they bring them in- I let out the horses one morning to discover one of the geldings had a huge rock (the size of my fist) wedged neatly in his shoe, and he’d had it there for at least 12 hours
e. don’t put the right hay into the stalls (is it really that hard to see the difference between first cut and third cut hay?) and wonder why one of the horses is breaking out in hives and another is coughing because of the excess dust
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Would you be looking for a job? I’d like to replace all the barn help ever hired where I’m at.
Someone who actually Thinks
Jennifer R- possibly not a parelli fail, but definitely a fail by someone who didn’t know how to properly train a horse. I’ll give in that that actually does happen a lot with parelli though, because rank beginners want to be their horse’s beeeeeest fwend and don’t actually get to the part about TRAINING the horse.
gallipolo says:
‘I personally hate when everyone teaches the quick release knot. It plain does not work in my opinion. I have had to cut more lead ropes than I would care to mention over 40 plus years of working with horses. Once I learned the bowline knot I have never lost a leadrope again. It is a knot used when tying up boats in a harbour because with the water getting rope wet and the constant movement of the ocean water the boat rising and lower tugging on the rope it does not tighten onto itself. It can always be released even after a horse has set back with all of its might onto the rope.”
You know, my old Saddleseat trainer also insisted on teaching me that knot. I used it simply to humor her (since she was 80 years old at the time and I did not want to agitate her, LOL), but when she retired from teaching I switched to using the quick-release knot, because that was the knot I learned in 4-H and, honestly, everyone does it. *shrug*
But you are absolutely right- Every. Single. Time. a horse of mine would panic while tied and pull back, there was no way I was able to get that stupid quick-release knot untied. Now I have panic snaps on my cross-ties and only tie with the quick-release knot if I have to. I should really go back to using the bowline knot. They NEVER got too tight (which I vaguely remember my trainer telling me… I just chose to ignore her because I was a teenager and OBVIOUSLY knew more than the lady with 70+ years in the horse world….)
Here are some of my personal examples of horse disasters to drive some of these points home:
Barbed wire: I own a 26 year old mare who almost cut her entire left front leg OFF as a foal (maybe 1-2 weeks old if that) getting hung up in barbed wire. My grandfather gave her to my parents for doctoring her, which took months, and I later bought her. She has always been sound but has a large scar in around the base of her leg through her “armpit.”
Oat hay: My parents successfully fed oat hay for a few winters until the day my Pony Club gelding got impaction colic and died after a couple days of “life support” at the vet’s because we couldn’t afford colic surgery. The vet told us to never, ever feed oat hay when the horse may not drink enough water (cold snap in the winter without heated water troughs). That was years ago but we learned a valuable lesson.
Water: When I was a kid, the neighbors had a few horses bordering our ranch and they believed they could survive on snow for the winter. When the yearling went missing, we searched for a long time before finding just her frozen ears poking out of the ice on the creek. She had gotten desperate to get water, fell in and drowned. Very sad.
“Lifetime gates:” You know, the shiny metal ones (not round rails, but wide flat ones) that last forever but are kind of flimsy. Same neighbor’s mare in heat jumped one of those to get onto our property when I was a kid and landed in the middle of the gate. The top “rail” gave way but the upright did not. Luckily, she was off center enough that it cut her belly pretty deep but didn’t actually impale her. She was doctored and lived but I will never own a cheap gate. You’re better off with an electric tape gate than one that will injure your horse if it jumps.
Bowline Knot: My best friend. I have to disagree with the theory that your horse should be able to pull free if it panics when tied. My horse is safer remaining tied than getting loose and running in traffic, into a neighbor’s fence, running into other tied horses, etc. I have a friend who’s two horses were tied to her trailer at a team penning when a tractor went by and scared them. They both broke loose and tried to run between two parked cars. Imagine two bulldog type Quarter Horses trying to fit! They wrecked both cars, one ended up permanently lame from her chest injuries and the other has large scars. I have never hurt a horse tying it solid and I’ve tied hundreds of them thousands of times. I have seen horses flop like fish on the end of a rope tied in a bowline around their neck or belly roped and they are safe and sound and you can still untie the knot with ease. A nice thick rope is the only way so it won’t cut or burn them. I kinda like the idea of the rope halter fad except for the fact that they’re awfully narrow in diameter. It’s fine to deter a horse who understands to give to pressure but I’d never tie one that didn’t. I imagine you could probably cut into them pretty bad with the narrow ropes. Never tie a horse around the neck or any other part of its body with a slip knot. My neighbors (in my adult life) choked their horse to death like that.
Sharp knife: Shares best friend status with the bowline. I always carry a sharp knife that is capable of cutting a rope to free a horse. There have been a few times that I’ve stood at the ready when a horse has gotten into trouble but only once have I used my knife to save a horse. It has to be sharp because you don’t have time to saw on a rope in an emergency. The time I used my knife to cut a horse free was while at a clinic. At lunchtime, everyone tied their horses in the barn. We ran out of room so one gal tied her horse to a panel corral just outside. For some reason, he started pulling back and the panel came free of the others (the pen had those rubber connectors instead of pins or chains). He hadn’t completely freaked out yet but was backing faster and faster with that panel on his rope so I cut him loose before all hell broke loose! Another tip in cutting a tied horse loose is to get on the opposite side of the hitching rail, fence, etc if you can and cut the rope from the back (if it’s looped around a post for example). That way, the horse won’t hit you with its hoof, head, or body. My stepmom broke her neck trying to get in and “save” a horse. The point is, don’t get yourself killed trying to save a horse!
Speaking of my stepmom, never tie yourself to a horse. She didn’t do that but a mule she was leading pulled back so fast that the leadrope flipped around, caught the end of her middle finger and pulled it off! When I say tie, I also mean wrap. I see people lead their horse with a loop around their hand and imagine what can happen in an instant.
Never pour water down a horse’s nose: This is a joke but I’ve actually known a horse it was done to. I never understood why someone would even think to do something so twisted and cruel, nonetheless pointless. I mean, what does a horse learn from that?! I did meet someone last year who considers it a valid method of getting a horse to behave. Here’s the theory: First step is to throw the horse down and tie his feet together so he can’t get up. This shows him you’re in control. If he slams his head into the ground fighting to get up, blindfold him so he thinks he’s knocked out his eyes. If he still hits his head, lift up his muzzle and pour water down his nose so he thinks his nose is bleeding (from hitting his head) and stops. Is this the method they call “breaking the spirit?” I couldn’t believe someone believed all of that worked! Maybe it does but if I have to do that to my horse to make it mind, I think I’ll sell it and get a gerbil. Or a plant.
The horse who had water poured down its nose went from simply untrained to striking its owner in the face and breaking her jaw when she got it back from the trainer that did the water treatment. It took my dad a solid six months to get it to fully trust him but it never worked out for its owner. I’m sure he took a free ride to Canada. The moral of this story is: If something seems “not quite right” or downright cruel, get a second or third opinion from someone not involved in the situation. Not every trainer is right and not every training method works for everyone.
EXTENSION CORDS are no replacement for proper wiring, and they (along with any electric cord) WILL KILL a horse if the horse chews on them, or if the cord starts a fire in the barn.
A lot of people use extension cords to run fans in the summer, and stock tank heaters in the winter. If there really is no other choice, secure the cords so that a horse absolutely cannot reach them. Inspect the cords frequently for damage. If hanging over nails, make sure the nails aren’t rubbing through the cord’s casing. Make sure the cord is not being pinched in a doorway. Use a higher gauge cord (the common orange 16 ga. indoor/outdoor cord is NOT ENOUGH to run a fan or stock tank heater under heavy use!) Go with a 14 gauge at least. REPLACE them yearly, or sooner if you find any damage. Don’t use a longer cord than you need; the extra coils can suck extra power and increase the odds of overheating. CHECK cords and plugs for heat; if they are hot to the touch, they are close to overheating. GFI or GFCI outlets should be used in a barn, since they protect from water and from surges; but they DO NOT protect from overheating!
BOX FANS: Buy a new one each year and throw away the old one. Why? That $9.99 Wal-Mart box fan is NOT designed for use in a dusty barn. The motor will fill with dust, creating a fire hazard under heavy use. $9.99 a year is a cheap insurance policy!!!
I have seen a lot of EXPERIENCED horsepeople doing stupid things with fans, cords, and stock tank heaters. The basic rule is that if it plugs in, it needs to be in PRISTINE condition, and it has to be NOWHERE NEAR reachable by a horse. Anything less is inviting catastrophe in the form of an electrocuted horse or a barn fire.
RE: Grain, playing “musical” grain or switching grain without weaning them on to the new stuff.
Know your horse’s basic vitals…Breaths per Minute, Pulse, Temp, Capilliary refill time, etc….
Rotten trailer floor boards…Check them frequently!!!
I really wish more beginners would admit to being beginners and ask questions. Everyone has to start somewhere, and if people keep running off new people, we won’t have a horse industry anymore. I will often gladly hire someone that walks into my barn and says “I don’t know squat about horses but I want to learn”.
I had a few bad hires in my time, but I’ll share the good ones.
One year a girl showed up at the barn in flip flops and shorts asking for a job. It was an unusually hot day, so we let this one slide. She claimed to know what she was doing, and that she had worked rodeo’s and grew up on a ranch. After a brief interview, the boss told her to come in the next morning ready to work. Guess what, she shows up in her flip flops and shorts. As a groom you can get away with wearing shorts, you just get a lot of crap in your shoes, especially shavings. But flip flops? come on. That was alarm bell number one. After finding her some appropriate footwear, I asked her to tack a horse for me (with full supervision of course). She did know to put the saddle on first, but I told her not too because we bridle racehorses first and then saddle. She grabs the bridle and has some trouble figuring out how it was supposed to go on. I let that slide since we have had some very talented hunter jumpers come through our barn that on their first day didn’t have a clue how to put on a dexter ring snaffle (myself included). When after I showed her, she proceed to stand directly in front of the horse and jam the bit into the poor horses teeth repeatedly. I took over and bridled. I asked her to put the saddle on for me. Not only does she put the saddle on about a foot further back than it is supposed to be, she puts it on backwards! Of course I corrected her and she gets all pissy and tells me, “well that’s how we put a western saddle on!” Correct me if I’m wrong, but even though I’ve spent most of my time in racing and english barns, I’m pretty damn sure that’s not how you put on a western saddle and I’m pretty sure that chick LIED! LOL Boss gave her $60 for the day and said thank you but we won’t be needing you.
There was also the one girl we hired. We’d give her a job and a time frame to do it in. Leave her alone for 20mins and NOTHING was even touched and the barn reeks of pot. Really hard to figure out what was going on there.
I had one guy I told to grab a chesnut mare with a star. She was the only chesnut in the barn at that time so I figured it would be a pretty easy task. After waiting 10 minutes for him to come out of the barn, I went inside and there he is fucking the dog (in the figurative way). I asked him what the hell he was doing and he says “there’s no chesnut mare with a star in here!” I pointed her out and said “yes there is you idiot, she’s the only chesnut in the barn and she’s standing right there.” to which he responds “Thats not a star, that’s a blob!”.
This is my all time favorite. We started doing stalls and I told him not to do a specific stall. The horse in that stall had been on stall rest for over a month, and was a rank bastard to begin with. He chose to do the stall anyway, and this is how it went down:
Idiot worker: Angie come here quick! you have to see this!
(I go rushing over to find the horse giving idiot worker the classic “I am going to kill you look” down to the pinned ears, the leg stomp and the tail swishing.)
Me: What exactly do I need to see?
Idiot worker: I think he likes me!!!
Me: What would make you think that??
Idiot worker: HE’S WAGGING HIS TAIL AT ME!!!!!
Again, claimed to have experience and really really didn’t.
Beginners: Please admit to being so and ask questions!! It will get you A LOT further!!!
Stall doors: make sure they are wide open before you take the horse out.
If the door has a sliding latch, make sure the slider is pushed all the way to the open position – nothing sticking into the doorway – before you bring the horse out or take the horse in. (Straight Egyptian stallion in our barn, about to be sold for big money. Catches slider on his rump as he goes into stall – about 40 stitches to close it. No sale!)
Always walk into the stall with the horse – don’t stand at the door and let the horse go in alone. (MHQ nearly broke her arm doing this as a silly 14 year old. Also the reason the stallion in the above example went into the stall at a weird angle and hit the slider in the first place.) I always stop the horse and go in slightly ahead so that he doesn’t rush in and smash me on the side of the stall door frame.
It always helps to spend time with knowledgeable, experienced people before you buy a horse.
If you are a re-rider, take the time to refresh your knowledge when you get back into the game. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable, but a lot has changed in the 20 years I’ve been away from every day involvement. Things have really changed in some ways and I’ve tried to ask my vet and farrier lots of questions and do a lot of reading (thanks Fugly!) to catch up.
As a couple of other people have mentioned, tying is a big one. Tie the release knot correctly. My mare knows how to ground tie and doesn’t really care when she steps on her line.
We started teaching a friend’s TB how to ground tie by standing her on grass and using a rope halter so it wouldn’t break. After stepping on her rope, she tried to throw her head up, and when it didn’t work, she just took her foot off and looked terrified, but it worked.
Warmup people! I had a friend who didn’t warm up or cool down her horse properly, and she ended up with arthritis at the age of 7. Coincidence? I think not.
And while poor saddle fit might not be lifethreatening for the horse, it could be for you. Most horses buck and do anything to get you off if the saddle is hurting them, and that can be dangerous for the rider (and also the wall too, if you’re thrown into it…)
Beginners: Your horse does not automatically need shoes. A lot of people seem to think that a riding horse needs shoes, and that is simply not true. Your horse might be happier without them.
Manners: Your horse’s bad manners can hurt you and the people around you. He should NEVER step towards you, especially with the hindquarters. He could step on you, or shove you, and neither of those are fun when you fall down. If you can’t controll him completely when grooming, how do you expect to do it if he gets into an accident?
Another trailer-related tip: Never tie a horse to, or load a horse into, a horse trailer that’s not secured to a tow vehicle!
OK, there may be an exception to this rule- if you’re lucky enough to own a $40,000 or more trailer that’s the size of a semi truck, then yes, you can tie to it when it’s unhitched. But most beginners (heck, most of the rest of us, too!) can’t afford that much trailer…
But any type/size of bumper pull and many goosenecks are too small to safely tie a horse to- if the horse pulled back and the trailer moved, or tipped over, DISASTER!
If you load a horse into a trailer that’s not hitched to a tow vehicle, the weight when the horse steps into the trailer can tip the front up in the air- again, DISASTER!
I LOVE my breakaway halter! I never used to need to turn my boy out in a halter at all, until some bloody kids (I would skin them if I found out who they are!) started tossing rocks at the horses, chasing them around the paddock etc. Now he is spooky of people when you go to approach him and the halter and rope freak him out. I’m not sure why, but having the rope laid over his neck must remind him of something traumatic cos he never had a problem with it before, and now he freaks out.
so, breakaway halter = WIN!
the other important thing I’ve learned, one you should really do, for your horse sake, is HAVE YOUR VETS NUMBER IN YOUR PHONE! I do not know how many people overlook this. and write it down in other places! on your first aid kit, for example! write it on a post-it-note and stick it on the wall in the tack room! Just have that number available, cos god forbid something should happen, you will need that number quickly!
I think a huge problem is imitation without explanantion. Beginners imitate whatever they see someone who they THINK has more experience/is an expert doing with their horses, but don’t ask them why they’re doing it. it doesn’t sound life or death, but the greatest horse that I ever owned or in my opinion ever existed came from just such a situation, someone who decided to break him out straight into the show tack and then treat him like a misbehaving show horse instead of an unbroken horse. Thankfully she became disillusioned and sold him and I got him, but for the almost 19 years I owned him there were things I simply could not do with him, because of that early treatment. Hw was my absolute best friend though, and leaves an unfillable hole, which more than makes up for never being able to carry a whip. How many of those horses don’t go to forever homes but instead bounce around, hurt people and themselves because they’re ‘cheap’, then end up abandoned or slaughtered?
It’s so easy to ask too, who doesn’t like talking about their horses and what they do with them? I was at a show at a fair this summer, with many different breeds, and one of the owners of another breed was watching us like a hawk (probably to see what those damn crazy arabs would do, LOL) As I was prepping my horse for loading, he came over and started asking questions, specifically about the shipping boots. It seemed at first crazy that he wouldn’t know about shipping boots, but for whatever reason,he didn’t. By asking he got a clear picture of why they’re used, how to put them on front and back and a good laugh at how a horse walks the first few steps. Odds are his horse now wears shipping boots.
Don’t be afraid to speak up when you see someone watching you or your horse. if you’re experienced in the horse world I think you owe a debt to the people who helped you get there and you pay that debt by helping out newbies wherever you can. You never know whether or not you may save a horse or rider vast amounts of pain or misery.
And get their damn feet done!
Lots of great ideas and advice! Although, the danger of allowing a hot horse to have free-choice water has been proven a myth…I’m wondering what the horse is doing back at its stall/trailer/pasture while it’s still hot…
A few things I reccommend to new horse owners:
1. Invest in training! Oh.my.gosh. It will make your life SO much easier and it’s really cheaper in the long run. This isn’t just something trainers say to make a buck! (Okay, SOME do…but they’re the ones that shouldn’t be training ANYTHING) Even if you purchase a well-trained horse….even if you’ve been taking riding lessons…take them with your new horse! Every horse and rider team is going to have holes-a third party can spot things you might miss. When I am scouting for prospective mounts for clients, especially new-owners, I prefer to look at horses that have been with a reputable trainer that is willing (and often happy) to coach the new owner with the horse for a while…usually 30 days.
2. One horse, fully loaded…okay, so it’s nothing like car ownership but there are some manners and skills I firmly believe EVERY horse and pony should have in addition to basic riding and handling.
a. GROUND TYING: Um…since when did people stop teaching this?!? It’s a great skill for a horse to know! I didn’t realize the true benefit of ground tying until I purchased an ornery 3YO who wouldn’t tie…period. The advice I got straight from LYNN PALM’S mouth? Teach him to ground tie and stop worrying about it. Now everything I own or train learns it. (Ornery 3YO is now 12 and has been an amazing show horse with 5-figure earnings spanning 9 events, still going strong and is truely a horse anyone can ride…I still don’t think he’d tie…)
b. STANDING WHILE MOUNTING: Self-explanitory but I still see loads of horses wandering off while their rider is half on. Not only is it annoying, it’s unsafe. You would think that this would be something everyone would instill in their horses.
c. FARRIER MANNERS: (S)He will thank you! Let’s be frank-a good, reputable farrier WILL NOT work on a jerk. They don’t have to; most of the ‘good ones’ have waiting lists.
d. LOWERING THEIR HEAD: Seems like a silly trick but try to bridle a horse that sticks his head in the air and you’ll appreciate this one. It’s rediculously easy to teach and most horses figure it out in 5 minutes. Also rather nice when you want to trim a bridle path…which brings me to…
e. CLIPPING: Knowing your horse isn’t going to flip out when you turn the clippers on is just plain NICE. Knowing he’s going to be a good boy about the process is just plain FANTASTIC.
3. I recommend protective boots whenever a horse is being worked or hauled. The majority of them are fairly fool-proof in application (unlike wrapping which takes knowledge and skill) and they’re all cheaper than having to doctor a hurt leg or call the farrier out to put a shoe back on.
4. Invest in quick-release trailer ties. Anyone who has ever had a horse freak out in a trailer will tell you the can literally be a life saver-to both of you.
Always remember- with a horse, if it CAN happen, it WILL happen. Someone said earlier that it’s like baby-proofing your house and they’re spot-on. I changed the door handle on my feed room last week because my 3 YO gelding figured out the lever handle in roughly 2 minutes while I was tacking him up! It’s not a door that my horses can access while they’re loose, but I’m not about to chance it. Eliminate as much risk as possible, but understand that things still occur and be prepared to handle them. The horse I mentioned earlier that wouldn’t tie has had a long show career without injury or lameness due to showing. A few years ago, I turned him out to play in the pasture and within 2 hours he had caught his right front shoe a ripped it (and a HUGE chunk of foot) off. In the process, he pulled his suspensory ligament. He was off about a year and with the right care and lots of patience he’s been back to his winning ways and has had no chronic problems.
Off topic. I am looking at an OTTB in Ohio(I am in GA). Need help with hauling if all works out.
Although this topic has revolved around short-term safety and care, I would like to also suggest another consideration.
When you decide to buy a horse, take a serious inventory of your riding experience and expectations. If you want a been-there-done-that trail horse, buy a been-there-done-that trail horse. Don’t buy a green broke 3 year old or an OTTB and expect that it will be your dream horse. If you are going to keep a horse in a pasture, make sure the horse you buy is accustomed to living in a pasture (same goes for stall kept).
The reason I mention this is many people with great intentions end up with horses that they can’t use or enjoy and often these horses end up at auction.
On Sunday I will have owned a horse for one year and it has been a great year! What horse ownership has taught me is DO NOT EVER TURN YOUR HORSE OUT WEARING A HALTER unless it is a breakaway, READ, READ, READ everything you can to educate yourself, and trust your own instincts about your horse and their health/condition.
My biggest pet peeve after a year of ownership though is people who buy a horse, bring it to the boarding facility and then never, ever show up again. Horses, while not giant dogs, still enjoy a good scratch and attention especially the kind they get when you groom them. There’s a pocket pony at the place we board right now who just looks pathetic.
Forelock all tangled with burrs, mud caked on almost every inch of him and who knows when the last time his feet were picked out. Can someone here explain to me why people buy a horse and never groom/ride/pay attention to the animal?
I think there should definitely be a note about WHERE you tie your horse… specifically what they are close to.
See, my horse has this thing for for putting his rear-end near anything when he’s tied. We’re talking the wall, a stall, the tack room door, or even things on the ground. No amount of poking, prodding, and pushing him away from said items seems to deter him. He’s right back there as soon as you turn your back.
Well, one evening he was tied near the tractor. From how I understand it (I wasn’t there) he was infront of it. And my little genius decided he would like to his butt to touch the tractor. And then SIT on it. Long story short he got his leg behind the front wheel or something and ended up slicing open his HL cannon a good 6 inches. Luckily, my trainer was there and was able to take care of it immediately and he neve developed and infection or anything worse.
Lesson learned: If you think they won’t do it… they will. Horses with shouldn’t be tied near anything they can reach with EITHER end.
Adding to many of the good suggestions posted already, learn how to take your horses vital signs, so you really know if your horse is sick. Then when you talk to the vet on the phone you can give vital information.
Ekamberg is correct. They can drink when they’re hot, and in fact should drink.
At polo, we’d fill a muck bucket with water in the sun so that there was lukewarm water that they could drink their fill of immediately after playing. Never had a problem. But you know, the FIRST time someone told me you could do that, and had me do it with her horses, I thought she was INSANE, LOL. ‘Cause that’s just not how we’d been doing it all of this time. Turns out she was right on the money, just ahead of her time!
LITTLE REGGIE – keep up the outing, I love it!
Oh and Little Reggie, can you get Tiveragh Road’s info for me? Ran through Enumclaw on Sunday, sold by someone named Jiminez? He’s getting picked up tomorrow, he’s safe.
I have actually met folks who think that a horse can eat cabbage and other household leftovers… For heaven’s sake, if you are going to buy a horse, at least find out what they eat! AND…if you live in a sand pit…Please FEED your horse…I am sick of seeing starving horses in sand pits with all of the bark eaten off the trees…JMHO
I forgot to ask earlier – can I get some opinions on how to tie / whether to tie in the trailer and why. In a 2 horse straight, I usually just throw the lead over his neck when he goes in. In a slant, I’ll loop the lead through the ring, but usually don’t tie that either
I knew a guy, and self proclaimed little experience, who bought a few young or green horses, would pack them into his trailer and go off to ride at a local arena. No big problem there. My big problem was riding each horse 3 or more times in that day! I watched him spin a green mare around so fast her head was spinning. She was working on being able to give a consistent and steady jog… Oh dear. He went out to catch a horse out of a community pasture (about 20 head on 30 acres) with a bucket of oats!! Now that’s safe. He rode each and every horse with the same saddle and pad, had shanked bits for most all of them or those reeeeaaaally thin little snaffles (yikes) cause they sure “pay tension” when you pull on them. I offered some training suggestions, but “naw, you english people think you know it all. The horse is just fine!” Long story short, his horses are now all lame and or truly rank and bitter. I believe he’s looking for something new.
My very first horse was an 11 month old PMU baby. I trained her myself and we had no buck and a lot of heart. She was wonderful with me. Now, I’m not saying that I was a beginner when I got my first horse. I’d been at a barn where trainers were regularly starting youngsters and took a LOT of regular lessons, rode ANYTHING they’d let me. By the time it came to training that baby horse, I actually KNEW how to do it! Worked out very nicely. Now, 11 years after that fact, I have a very small breeding and training program. If I know I am not going to be successful at starting a young horse, it goes off to someone with more experience and confidence than me. (Being a mom puts a damper on that thing called MORTALITY)
I love beginners, the ones who ask alll sorts of “silly” questions. I always tell them, there are no silly questions, but I’ve heard some really silly answers. And, ya know, those beginners have really helped me learn a LOT too. Sometimes my 20 years of horse experience doesn’t know the answer, and has to go on fugly blog and find the answer lol.
Cheers!
I don’t have a problem at all with taking advice from a barn manager, if you judge that person to be a professional in the field (that means well cared for horses of their own, and some years of experience). However, doing some independent research on your own is a very good idea. The barn manager says you need a turn-out blanket in the winter? Go look up stuff about blanketing horses. Anyone can look up information about feeding their specific horse as well, or lameness problems, whatever. Be wise about whose advice you take and learn what the normal parameters for weight, shoeing, and other stuff for your horse in your situation, so you aren’t blindsided by bad care.
A good horse book can be invaluable for learning what common practice is if a beginner isn’t sure. Sometimes the UK published books have some different terminology and practices, but it’s all pretty straightforward in most cases.
One real issue is behavior problems. Today, I had to find another home for my horse-aggressive OTTB — he is getting worse, not better, and I can’t provide him with a suitable environment where he and the other horses are safe. I have other horses at this place and am very satisfied, but for this guy it was not working out. I found a place where he can go and be happier, where he’s not a danger to other horses. On topic, if your boarding situation is one way, and your horse is another, either you have to move or sell the horse and get one that fits better in your environment. Horse can’t go out on pasture? Don’t board at a pasture-only facility. Gets crazy in a stall? Don’t board in a show barn that never turns out. And of course, if you can’t handle the behavior problems your horse presents, find one that works with your personality and facilities.
There’s a reason Pat Parelli makes so much money — there’s tons of people out there who know nothing, own horses, and are desparate for help. He presents a logical, progressive program that is very appealing to the amateur because it guarantees “success” (and I am not a fan, but I guess that some experienced horse people get stuff out of it too.)
Don’t ever throw a tarp over your horse’s head. A friend of mine (Parelli cult memeber) decided to show off how desensitized and well-trained their horse was, so this person draped a very large blue tarp over their horse’s head. Well, said horse tolerated this for about 3 seconds before spooking and taking off running. With tarp flying in the wind, the horse crashed thru two flimsy pipe arena fences that were held together with PVC connectors, made a 90 degree turn and crashed thru two heavy metal turnout pipe sections, finally coming to a stop after going thru the second. We were horrified watching this drama unfold in the blink of an eye. I thought that the horse had surely broken its legs or something just as tragic. Horse is alive and well today, but had to get lots of stitches in its legs and chest area and many months or rehab. Very lucky that the horse isn’t dead from running into a tree or running into another horse or human and killing THEM as well. Just goes to show that any horse will spook. DUH
1. This one is EXTRA dumb, and I suspect I know the answer, but… Are carrot greens OK for horses? My grocery store cuts them off, but said I could have them. I can’t imagine why these wouldn’t be OK, but, again, I am paranoid… All I feed him other than his hay (he is in drylot where I board) is a soaked pelleted hay so I can give him Cosequin and a flax (ground and stabilized with calcium added) supplement because he is prone to dandruff, apples, carrots, and all-natural horse cookies (they are local and are actually soft!). And I hand graze him on grass for 20 or so minutes a day. I have not been bold enough to try anything else!
I wouldn’t give them to him. It’s okay for them to eat them if they’re on the carrot, but I’d worry about the ones from the store being too old and getting moldy from being damp. It’s the same thing with the cut grass.
2. Regarding pasture obstacles… Is it OK to leave a jolly ball out in pasture? It is made for horses, but I have visions of my horse tripping over it, so I am afraid to leave it. Do people leave these out all the time?
You can leave it out all the time.
3. I don’t know the name of the fencing my horse has. It is just three wire lines/coils (between posts obviously), each of which is wrapped in some sort of plastic. I’m guessing this is not ideal, but my horse seems to have no interest whatsoever in escaping. My question is, should I replenish the strips of flagging and/or tarps when they fade/tear off, even though my horse has been there for a year and surely knows where the fenceline is by now? Is there a chance he would panic and not see the fence after all this time? I do re-tape the connectors when needed so there is no mane tearing.
I think I’d need to see the fence, ask your vet
4. Does anyone put a tail wrap in a horse turned out 24/7? Is that safe? My guess is not, because it could catch on something and he would pull his tail out, but I’m not sure.
It entirely depends on what you mean by tail wrap. If you mean some sort of bandage (like an ace or saratoga) wrapped around the tail bone, ABSOLUTELY NOT! The danger here is that it can cut off circulation to his tail bone. These shouldn’t be worn for more than a few hours. If you mean a tail bag or the lycra stuff that wraps around the loose hairs below the tail bone those are fine. They’ll rip if they get caught on anything. He won’t pull his tail out.
There are no stupid questions. Things I’ve asked my vet or trainer:
+ Do horses have a bellybutton? I mean they have an umbilical cord, so… (Answer: Yes. It’s hard to find and smaller than you’d expect. My horse is a saint for letting my trainer and I poke at her belly for that long.)
+ Since horses can’t vomit, can they cough up phlem? (Yes.)
+ Are ____ ok for horses to eat? (Pears, persimmons, bananas, beer, turnips, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, pumpkin, gatorade are all ok for horses in moderation)
+ Why don’t people mount from the right? (Tradition, mounting from both sides is ok and possibly better for the horse’s back, just don’t do it in a show)
+ Why is it called a curry comb? (No one knows)
You’re always better off asking.
Okay, i feel silly asking, as I’ve only ever been taught the quick-release knot… what is the bowline knot? And what are the advantages besides the fact that it doesn’t tighten too much? Are there any knots that will just come loose if, and only if, the horse pulls hard enough on the rope? Not like if he just backs up a step it comes undone, but if he spooks and you really don’t WANT to be close enough to untie a quick release knot? Thanks for the future answers to my “silly” questions!
For HEAVEN’s sake, do NOT get involved with the line of blather from most of the NH practitioners out there. Just because someone has a line of books, DVDs, a training program (usually costing thousands of dollars for a few days in the presence of The Trainer), and a line of logowear and training gear, all very overpriced, does NOT mean that person knows squat about horses other than which end to feed.
If this is your first horse, you can watch what these “experts” do, but back up their preachings with books written by other people, with magazines and with discussions with your veterinarian and shoer (when it comes to basic horsecare and handling). Do NOT just rush out and buy the first thing you see from the first trainer you hear about. No sense perpetuating mediocrity while putting yourself or your horse in harm’s way.
When I started with horses back in 1972, I was an adult. I had to rely on books and magazines (NONE of them geared to beginning adult riders) to learn about English riding because I was in the middle of cowboy country. Most trainers preferred dealing with kids, citing no fear issues, more money from the parents, and more opportunities for the kids to win big prizes so the trainer’s reputation would become known.
Today’s beginning adult rider has a lot more opportunities to find help with horse issues and different riding disciplines, but there are also a lot more individuals who have experience in marketing crap than in dispensing effective training techniques. I still think of Parelli flopping onto the ground, exhausted, while his horses canter at liberty around him. It’s a kick in the head just waiting to happen.
OT but someone has added an interesting comment to a previous post…
http://www.fuglyblog.com/2008/field-of-starvation-another-breeder-bites-the-dust/
I’ve always fed carrots with the greens, but they’re from Whole Foods so I figure their stuff is pretty fresh, and I’m literally picking it up on the way to the barn. I have not had a problem with it, but I also don’t overfeed carrots in general. 2-3 in a day is as much as my horses ever get.
Absolutely on the ground tying.
The first pony I had as a kid…I would regularly ride in an ungated arena on my own. I’d want to do a games pattern, or maybe remove trotting poles that were in my way, or otherwise move equipment…and I was on my own.
We don’t use the term ground tying in England, but I knew the only way I’d be able to move equipment in the middle of a ride was if that horse would stand. I taught that horse to stay exactly where I put him when I got off. He knew that when I got off, he was to stay where he was until told otherwise…it wasn’t that hard to teach.
And it had a useful side effect. Every time I came off that horse (Which being young and stupid and chasing around I did fairly often)…he would STOP and he would STAND until I told him otherwise…he was that convinced that if I left his back he had to stand still. I never had to worry about him going home or chasing off onto the road if I came off out on the trail. He knew what he was supposed to do and he did it.
If I ever get another horse, it will be taught that…that if I am not in the saddle you STOP and you STAND…whether I got off intentionally or accidentally.
about salt lick blocks: if you have a horse that has never had one available 24/7, introduce them to it slowly. I knew a horse who’s first encounter with a salt block ended with a disaster. He ate the whole thing (if i’m not mistaken it was 4kg) in one night. he had a very bad reaction to it and they found him in the morning quite literally shaking all over. immediate vet care was provided so he lived, but the whole situation could have been easily prevented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5uMRvZ9o7w
Here’s a link to a video showing how to tie a bowline. I think it’s the second “rancher’s bowline” that would be used . . .
Just a note of clarification on my earlier post-
My horse pulled his shoe and injured himself by overreaching while playing-not by hanging it on junk or unsafe fencing. It just goes to show that a horse doesn’t need any ‘help’ finding something to hurt himself on!
Every so often, my friend and I look over each other’s barns and paddocks to spot potential hazzards. We’ve both caught little things that had gone unnoticed in our own facilities. It may take an entire afternoon, but we’ll both gladly give up an afternoon to prevent what might take months to treat!